Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 774.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 278,993 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 247,100 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $56,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $171.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $188.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.99. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $141.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.